Monday, June 11, 2007

Who speaks for you?

Power Line looks at how CAIR's American membership has declined 90% since 9/11 but the organization continues to thrive, largely on contributions from overseas. One thing that has always disturbed me about identity politics is that it was always possible for a small organization with large sources of funding and good media connections to "speak for" women, youth, environmentalists etc. when they were essentially shell organizations consisting largely of public relations people. Does CAIR represent the American Muslim on the street? Apparently not very much. But from its exposure in the headlines you would think it spoke for them all.

You can hide, but you can't run. Donald Sensing observes that the Palestinian Authority's mufti has issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims, seeking a better life elsewhere,from leaving Palestine. "We hereby declare that emigration from the blessed lands is not permitted according to religious law."

The entire question of who "speaks" for a person lies at the center of the democratic ideal. The normal answer is that you speak for yourself through your ballot. But the possession of a bully pulpit can diminish that somewhat.

6 Comments:

I believe it was at National Review where one of the authors described returning from a political event before the last election and running into some of the protestors who had been seen outside the event.

Turned out that the people were part of a Rent-A-Protest group. They were on their way to their next gig, and were not quite sure what it was about, ala, "If it's Tuesday we must be protesting Global Warming."

So we have Special Interest groups funded by foreign sources, manned by professional PR types, and hiring Rent A Protestors.

Democracy in Action: we just don't know whose democracy. It sure ain't ours.

I wonder when it'll get to the point where we cut out the middle-man, and Saudi Arabia just buys each voter. 60 million votes would do it, and you just *know* there's some rich oil sheik out there who's got enough money to divvy out $1000 or more to 60 million people if they will take a cell-phone picture of their ballot showing that they voted for Independent Candidate Mohammed Al-Achmed, who will be running on a platform of open borders, burka's for everyone, and shariah law.

The rest of the world would have loved us Americans forever if only we hadn't elected Bush, twice. If only we elected Kerry, someone who properly hates America, everyone would have loved us.

That must have been the nail in the coffin, the second Presidential election where 62 million Americans elected Bush to a second term.

Somehow, 40 million Americans voting in the last election have not been able to turn the tide, yet.

And first Germany (Merkel) and then France (Sarko the American) have elected decidedly more America-friendly leaders, in Merkel and Sarkozy, than their Old Europe predecessors. This idea that the world hates America is belied by these elections of our allies who fight with us in Afghanistan and all around the world.

Luckily for me, I don't have to worry about any of this.

My own Congressman, former Adm. Joe Sestak and high up operative in Clinton Natl Sec (remember those guys in Afghanistan who declared war against us, openly? The 9/11 Report says we didn't strike them because if they struck back, it would make us look bad and whatnot, I paraphrase, Berger, Clinton, Clarke = read the book yourself),

Clinton expert Adm. Sestak actually did a fund raiser for CAIR on the City Line of Philly a couple of months ago for the Council on American Islamic Relations, which was recently cited as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal anti-terrorist indictment.

So I personally feel very safe. Once you surrender, you're happy - right? Didn't I read that at the Gates of Vienna?

Or was it Battles of Poitiers, or perhaps the naval annihilation at Lepanto.